Souderton curriculum team recommends adopting TCI 'History Alive' for high‑school U.S. history
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Summary
The district recommended switching ninth‑grade U.S. history from a theme‑based to a chronological sequence and adopting TCI’s History Alive as the primary high‑school resource; administration said content is unchanged, the six‑year license would cost about $39,910 and the purchase is budgeted for 2026–27.
The Souderton Area SD curriculum leadership recommended on the committee floor that the district adopt TCI’s History Alive as the primary high‑school U.S. history resource. Dr. Kennedy Riley, who led the presentation, said the department reorganized the course from a theme‑based to a chronological sequence to help students place events in order and that "content was not changed; it was simply reorganizing from theme to a chronological sequence of history."
Riley said the department chose History Alive because it offers a well‑organized, standards‑based narrative with primary sources and literary passages, and provides both classroom sets for teachers and digital licenses for students to access at home. "Our students will have both physical copies and digital access," she said, and the recommended purchase is budgeted as a typical six‑year licensing cycle. The estimated six‑year cost presented to the committee was $39,910 and the administration said the line is in the proposed 2026–27 budget.
Board members asked whether civics would be affected; the administration confirmed that civics instruction remains the district’s 11th‑grade course and that the ninth‑grade offering is focused on U.S. history (Riley: "This course is more of an American history course. Civics is in eleventh grade."). Members also asked whether state or MAP assessments would change; the district described social‑studies outcomes as measured chiefly by curricular measures at the high‑school level and the state’s civics assessment at grade 8, while MAP is used for reading and math only.
Several board members praised the move to a chronological sequence. The administration noted continuity with the middle‑school materials (the middle school uses TCI in earlier grades) as a benefit. The committee did not take a final purchasing vote at the meeting; administration said the recommendation would move forward through the district’s purchasing and board‑action processes.
The next procedural step is a purchasing recommendation to the board for approval at an action meeting; the committee was told the administration will return with contract paperwork and timeline details if the board moves forward.